Monstrous — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective adverb /ˈmän(t)-strəs/ mon·strous

Meaning & Definition of Monstrous

Monstrous (adjective)

  1. having extraordinary often overwhelming size, gigantic
  2. extraordinarily ugly or vicious, horrible
  3. shockingly wrong or ridiculous

Monstrous (adverb)

  1. very, extremely

Monstrous (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. badly or imperfectly formed

    "a monstrous melon that was clearly not fit to eat"

    similar: deformed, distorted, malformed, misshapen, shapeless
    related: defaced, disfigured, aberrant, abnormal, freakish, mutant, asymmetrical, crooked, disproportionate, irregular, lopsided, nonsymmetrical, overbalanced, unbalanced, unequal, horrible, horrific, terrible, ugly, unattractive
    opposite: undeformed
    near: shapely, flawless, perfect

  2. extremely disturbing or repellent

    "the monstrous measures taken by the dictator against anyone who opposed his regime"

    similar: appalling, atrocious, awful, dreadful, frightful, ghastly, grisly, gruesome, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrifying, lurid, macabre, nightmare, nightmarish, shocking, terrible, terrific
    related: alarming, bloodcurdling, dire, direful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, gut-wrenching, hair-raising, heart-stopping, intimidating, redoubtable, scary, terrifying, abhorrent, deplorable, disagreeable, disgusting, distasteful, loathsome, nauseating, noisome, obnoxious, obscene, offensive, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, sickening, abominable, evil, foul, heinous, noxious, odious, unspeakable, vile, grotesque, ugly, unsightly
    near: agreeable, appealing, attractive, delectable, delicious, delightful, enjoyable, enticing, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, welcome, cheering, comforting, soothing

  3. unusually large

    "a monstrous tomato as big as a basketball"

    similar: astronomical, Brobdingnagian, bumper, colossal, cosmic, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, giant, gigantesque, gigantic, grand, herculean, heroic, Himalayan, huge, humongous, immense, jumbo, king-size, leviathan, mammoth, massive, mega, mighty, monster, monumental, mountainous, oceanic, pharaonic, planetary, prodigious, super, super-duper, supersize, supersized, titanic, tremendous, vast, vasty, walloping, whacking, whopping
    related: big, bulky, considerable, extensive, good, goodly, great, gross, handsome, hefty, hulking, largish, major, outsize, overgrown, oversize, sizable, substantial, tidy, voluminous, august, formidable, grandiose, imposing, lofty, majestic, cavernous, monolithic, overwhelming, staggering, stupendous, towering, boundless, immeasurable, infinite
    opposite: bantam, bitty, diminutive, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little bitty, micro, microminiature, microscopic, midget, miniature, minuscule, minute, pocket, pygmy, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee
    near: little, mini, petite, pint-size, puny, small, smallish, undersized, dinky, dwarfish, half-pint

  4. unpleasant to look at

    "some monstrous high-rises have begun to spoil that lovely residential neighborhood"

    similar: grotesque, hideous, homely, ill-favored, ugly, unappealing, unattractive, unbeautiful, uncomely, unhandsome, unlovely, unpleasing, unpretty, unsightly, vile
    related: abhorrent, abominable, appalling, awful, disgusting, distasteful, dreadful, gross, horrible, horrid, loathsome, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, repellent, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, sickening, frumpish, frumpy, plain, unaesthetic, unbecoming, unshapely
    opposite: aesthetic, attractive, beauteous, beautiful, bonny (chiefly British), comely, cute, drop-dead, fair, fetching, good-looking, goodly, gorgeous, handsome, knockout, lovely, pretty, ravishing, seemly, sightly, stunning, taking, well-favored
    near: shapely, imposing, impressive, prepossessing

Monstrous (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to a great degree

    "a monstrous pretty gal, she was"

    similar: achingly, almighty, archly, awful, awfully, badly, beastly, blisteringly, bone, colossally, corking, cracking, damn, damned, dang, deadly, desperately, eminently, enormously, especially, ever, exceedingly, extra, extremely, fabulously, fantastically, far, fiercely, filthy, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, hugely, immensely, incredibly, intensely, jolly, majorly, mightily, mighty, mortally, most, much, particularly, passing, rattling, real, really, right, roaring, roaringly, seriously, severely, so, sore, sorely, spanking, specially, stinking, such, super, supremely, surpassingly, terribly, that, thumping, too, unco, uncommonly, vastly, very, vitally, way, whacking, wicked, wildly, a lot, as all get-out, good and
    related: absolutely, altogether, completely, downright, entirely, flat-out, fully, positively, purely, radically, thoroughly, totally, utterly, wholly, deeply, profoundly, exceptionally, notably, remarkably, considerably, extensively, significantly, substantially, appreciably, discernibly, markedly, noticeably, obviously, palpably, plainly, visibly, abundantly, plentifully, astronomically, grandly, monstrously, monumentally, excessively, obscenely, overmuch, amazingly, astonishingly, staggeringly
    opposite: little, negligibly, nominally, slightly, somewhat
    near: meagerly, scantily, barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Monstrous

The most common words with a similar meaning to Monstrous:

deformed, distorted, malformed, misshapen, shapeless, appalling, atrocious, awful, dreadful, frightful, ghastly, grisly, gruesome, hideous, horrendous, horrible, horrid, horrific, horrifying, lurid, macabre, nightmare, nightmarish, shocking, terrible, terrific, astronomical, Brobdingnagian, bumper, colossal, cosmic, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, giant, gigantesque, gigantic, grand

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Monstrous

Words with the opposite meaning of Monstrous:

undeformed, bantam, bitty, diminutive, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little bitty, micro, microminiature, microscopic, midget, miniature, minuscule, minute, pocket, pygmy, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, aesthetic, attractive, beauteous, beautiful, bonny, comely, cute, drop-dead

Related Words for Monstrous

defaced, disfigured, aberrant, abnormal, freakish, mutant, asymmetrical, crooked, disproportionate, irregular, lopsided, nonsymmetrical, overbalanced, unbalanced, unequal, alarming, bloodcurdling, dire, direful, fearful, fearsome, forbidding, formidable, frightening, gut-wrenching, hair-raising, heart-stopping, intimidating, redoubtable, scary

Near Antonyms of Monstrous

shapely, flawless, perfect, agreeable, appealing, delectable, delicious, delightful, enjoyable, enticing, inviting, pleasant, pleasing, pleasurable, satisfying, welcome, cheering, comforting, soothing, mini, petite, pint-size, puny, small, smallish, undersized, dinky, dwarfish, half-pint, imposing

Word Forms of Monstrous

Derived words: monstrously (adverb), monstrousness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Monstrous

First known use: 15th century

Frequently Asked Questions about Monstrous

What does "Monstrous" mean?

"Monstrous" means having extraordinary often overwhelming size, gigantic. As an an adjective and an adverb, it is defined as: having extraordinary often overwhelming size, gigantic. It has 5 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Monstrous"?

Other words for "Monstrous" include deformed, distorted, malformed, misshapen, shapeless, appalling, atrocious and awful. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Monstrous" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Monstrous"?

There are 300 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Monstrous". Common alternatives include deformed, distorted, malformed, misshapen, shapeless, appalling, atrocious, awful, dreadful and frightful.

What is the opposite of "Monstrous"?

Antonyms of "Monstrous" include undeformed, bantam, bitty, diminutive, infinitesimal, Lilliputian, little bitty and micro. Near antonyms include shapely, flawless, perfect and agreeable.

How do you use "Monstrous" in a sentence?

Examples of "Monstrous" in a sentence: "a monstrous melon that was clearly not fit to eat"; "the monstrous measures taken by the dictator against anyone who opposed his regime"; "a monstrous tomato as big as a basketball".

Is "Monstrous" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Monstrous" can be used as an adjective and an adverb, depending on the context.

How do you pronounce "Monstrous"?

"Monstrous" is pronounced /ˈmän(t)-strəs/ and divided into syllables as mon·strous.

What is the origin of the word "Monstrous"?

First known use: 15th century.